With Completion of MOVEBR Signal Projects, Baton Rouge Uses Latest Technology to Keep City Moving
When the MOVEBR program kicked off, Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome prioritized the traffic signal projects to help relieve congestion on surface streets as the I-10 widening project got underway. Thanks to the voters of East Baton Rouge Parish, the MOVEBR program included projects to build one of the most connected traffic signal systems in the country managed with the latest technology. After decades of piecemeal funding to connect our signals with fiber-optic cable so they can be managed from a central advanced traffic management center, the MOVEBR program has finished the job.
Prior to MOVEBR, East Baton Rouge Parish only had communication capability to less than half of its traffic signals, so the MOVEBR program has, for over two years, been installing fiber-optic cable to connect the remaining signals at a rate of over 1,000 feet a day.
The program has installed 176 miles of fiber-optic cable so traffic engineers can now communicate with signals throughout the parish.
East Baton Rouge Parish had aging equipment far past its life expectancy and an Advanced Traffic Management Center with limited connectivity to that equipment.
Below are highlights of what the MOVEBR signal projects have accomplished:
- Fiber-optic cable installation is now 100% complete.
- Detection devices, signal controllers and strategically placed cameras have been installed so traffic engineers can monitor traffic flow and adjust signals based on actual traffic volumes.
- First responders can now turn signals green as they approach to get to emergencies faster and safer.
- Signals on key corridors are equipped with battery backup power to keep traffic moving during power outages.
- Hardware and software improvements have been made to the Advanced Traffic Management Center.
The traffic lights are managed to give drivers a consistent, reliable morning and afternoon commute time. But drivers should remember that if they exceed the speed limit, they will catch more red lights. Speeders don’t get there faster.
You can see traffic flow from the videos from Harding Boulevard, Florida Boulevard and Siegen Lane taken during morning commutes. These videos were taken driving just under the speed limit and during morning commute time, catching almost all green lights on these routes.
The MOVEBR program has kept its commitment to complete projects on time before the I-10 widening project impacts our local traffic. It has also delivered one of the most advanced traffic management systems in the country, with 100% of signals connected and managed from a central Advanced Traffic Management Center.
Learn more about the completed MOVEBR traffic signal improvements here.